Ooh, I want to see this! Stranger Than Fiction

by Kris   ⋅   October 31, 2006   ⋅   Comment now   ⋅    RSS

There’s an upcoming Will Farrell flick that follows the lightly etched drama-indie-esque trail of fellow wacky skitster TV comics turned bigname Hollywood tickets Jim Carrey and Adam Sandler. Carrey surprised everyone in a low-key performance in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind as did Adam Sandler in Punch Drunk Love. Both of these movies top the Kris and Chris all-time charts, so I’m more than enthralled with Will Farrell’s latest, Stranger Than Fiction.

The supporting cast is reason enough to go: Dustin Hoffman, Emma Thompson, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Queen Latifah. Now that’s stranger than fiction on its own. But if that’s not enough for you, the story may just drag you in. Harold Crick (Farrell) is an IRS auditor (yawn) that is beginning to hear voices in his head. No no, he’s not going schizo, he’s being narrated. By Emma Thompson* no less. Harold can maybe live with someone describing how he brushes his teeth, but the pivotal point is when the narrator announces his impending death. Believing this woman is going to murder him, he sets off on a journey to find her and try to convince her not to kill him with that kind, soulful, weathered “cowardly lion” face of his. During this journey, Mr. Crick busts out of his doldrums and self-afflicted boundaries, tiny tragedies and tasteful hilarities ensue. I’m already laughing already.

*TRIVIA TIME: All three movies Stranger Than Fiction, Punch Drunk Love, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind had an otherwise completely dramatic British actress co-star. Emma Thompson, Emily Watson, Kate Winslet respectively.

Stranger Than Fiction opens in theatres November 10, 2006.